In brief
Bulgaria Heli Med Service, a state‑owned operator, logged 237 air ambulance missions from January to October 2026, a rise from earlier months. The October tally hit 33 missions, the company’s highest single‑month figure. Operating eight helicopters across two bases, the service plans to double its bases to four by year‑end, though confirmation of that expansion remains pending.
Bulgaria Heli Med Service, a state‑owned joint‑stock company providing helicopter emergency medical services, announced on Facebook that it has completed 237 air ambulance missions from the beginning of 2026 through October, according to BTA news.
The October month alone saw 33 missions, the company’s highest single‑month tally to date, a number that BTA reports as part of a steady growth trend in the operator’s operations.
The company now operates eight helicopters and has increased its operational footprint from a single base in 2025 to two bases in 2026, a move it says illustrates the agency’s consolidation as an aviation operator with an important public role.
In a post accompanying the figures, the company indicated that it aims to grow the number of bases to four by the end of the year, but the specific dates or deployment of the additional sites have not yet been detailed.
"The reported figures reflect the steady development of the company's operations and its consolidation as an aviation operator with an important public role," the company said in its statement.
Throughout the first ten months, the distribution of missions has varied, with the October spike described by BTA as a reflection of increasing demand and the company’s expanded capacity.
Meanwhile, BTA’s coverage notes that the eight‑helicopter fleet has expanded alongside the new base, but it does not provide a breakdown of how many helicopters are stationed at each location or whether any were added during the period.
Neither BTA nor the company’s Facebook announcement includes data on patient outcomes, specific cause categories for the missions, or metrics on response times beyond the mission totals.
Future plans for expanding the fleet or increasing daily operational hours remain undisclosed; the company’s announcement focuses solely on the number of bases and the anticipation of double‑the‑base capacity.
As of the latest update, other operational details – such as crew composition, average distance traveled per mission, or integration with ground emergency services – are not publicly available.
In short, the Bulgarian state‑owned Heli Med Service has logged 237 missions in the first ten months of 2026, with a peak of 33 in October, and operates eight helicopters across two bases, with an announced intention to have four bases by year‑end.
What remains uncertain is the exact timeline and execution of the planned expansion to four bases, as well as additional operational metrics that could contextualize the mission growth beyond the raw totals reported.
